Elevator drive



P. c. DAY

ELEVATOR VDRIVE Aug. 2 1927.

s sheets-sheet 2 Filed Dec. 8. 1921 INVENTOR.

,PERCY C. D/IY A TTORNEY.

P. C. ELEVATOR DRIVE Aug, 2

Filed Dec. 8, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 N VEN TOR ATTORNEY,

Patented Aug. 2, 1927.

j rimer-"o, 'DAY, oF mirwauxnnpwisconsnv, ASSIGNOR'TOTHE ArALKcomomirrou,'

f lF MILWAUKEE,fwrscousiun coRPoRArIoNoF WISCONSIN. f

larrivarci; DRIVE.

l PATEN oFpFicE.

Applicationraidnecemberys,192i. seminoQszofia. f n i.

use primarily ,in driving elevators, such ,as grain elevators and the like, although cer tain novel features thereof may be advantageously employed in 'ot-lierlrrelations..

yIn yelevators of the type ment.ioned, the" elevatory bucketsy are yordinarily carried by Ya substantially vertically disposed endless belt trainedover anddriven a pulley of standarc-lly construction. 'These belts are not infrequently .two hundred feet or more in length.

To insure proper 'trackinma precise adjustments, of the pulley and pulley shaft are necessa'ry,'not only at the time ofinstallationr` but yalso afrom time Vtoftime thereafter, lin orderto compensate'for kthe uneven stretching of theibelt under'continued use. f

t `One `olojectof the present invention" is the provision yof -afgeared 4unit well adapted for driving :an elevator pulley and constructed to permit `an angular adjustment. of the {pulleyshaft. f

AArnother objecty vator drive mechanism `of' any improved means for preventing reverse rotation of the elevator pulley..L ,n Y f f' j Anotherobject isg'enerally to improve the y, construction and operation of devices oftlis character. c

. Other more specific i objects and advan-V tages willlhereinafter appear. i j i. j. o IOne embodiment of thisinvention is illusf trated in the accompanying drawings, `in

w Figure ylis ajview inside elevation of an elevator drive mechanism embodying' yfea-k turesofthe present invention. y f "l i -Figure'Q is asectional view takenl substantiallyonitheli/ne 2-2 offFig'urel. y

-Figure is ahveitical sectional view; on a somewhat larger scaleyofthe drive mechanism shown'in Figure 1.

,.'.Figui'e-t yis ya sectional view-of 'a detail ure. f.

, Figure 5 is a detail `on a somewhat. larger yscalefof a back stop @mechanisin shown kin Fisfure.` i y i K "j y Figure '.6 is a'sectional View taken substantiallymnthe.linee-46 offFigure 5. n n .i The elevator drive mechanism kselected for illustrationincludes a main shaft 10 havingT pulley; 11y of. standard lconstrsuction keyed or otherwise 4fixed thereto.r4 1 AThe pulley conf stitutes ,a support and drivingmeans yforan This invention relatesto power unitsfor 4.is theprovision in an ele-y endless belt'lQ trained thereover and consti-Ak tilting the usual conveying medium for thel lelevator buckets k(not shown).

asffwill Ynow be describedg The standard rshown includesa rigid frame comprising a base plateilyliaving uprights 17 mounted thereon andfsupp'orting the main body por- .f

tion 18. Aplunger 19is mounted kfor verticaladjustinent in a suitable guide'way 20 formed in the body portion.

The plunger]k carries a bed plate 21 having a concave seat 22 of cylindrical-contour for receiving 'the correspondingly Vshaped convex face 23 of 7 the bearing' block 14. rflie-curvature of the face 23 and seat 22 issuch as to permit an` angular adjustment of the bearing block about a horizontal `anis at right 'angles ywithy J thefaxis'oftheshaft10- The bearingblo'ck is retained in its seat by any appropriate meansgsuchas ythe cooperating flanges 24 and 25, on the block and'bed platey-and the bed platesis retainedagainst turning byany appropriate means, such 'as ythe up'standinggf guide flangesy 26 carriedfby the frame. Vertical adjustment of the plunger 19 'is'secured preferably by the use of a jack-screw 27, herein .shown as swiveled, as at 28, in the ybase plate ylandthreaded through a nut 29' secured to the plunger.

, `The otherend of shaft 10 is journaled inv bearings 30., fixed in a rigid frame31,piv-

otally mounted for angular'adjustment'about afsubstantially horizontal axis at sub'sta-n? y tiall-y right angles with'the shaftvlO. 7A sup-r port ofanyy appropriate construction may be provided for the fra-me.y That shown in# clude-s abase y32 havingA-frames 33'preferablyy of hollow construction, 'rigidly mounted y y, n y y r U l Y at theopposite ends thereof and constituting taken substantially on the line of; Fig n upright" standards for sustaining the weight of the frame and parts carriedy thereby. These standards are provided with axially aligned'bearinojs 34 for journally .receiving trunnions 35 ktiXe'd'in suitable sockets 36in protuberances V87 projecting from the sides 'of theframe. By Athis mounting,v the frameL 31 is permitted to adjust itself to any changes in tlioangularity of the shaft 11 re# f su'lting from a .vertical adjustment ofthe standard 15. y y i y heffraine 31 carries the gearsffor driving Y main frame 31. 20

approved type is preferably employed for` driving the `shaft 42. In the mechanism shown, this motor is carried by a rigid bracket 47,'preferably of hollow construction, se,- cured to or formed as an integral part of the This motor may be mechanically connected with the shaft 42 through` a clutch, although a lieXible coupling 48, of a well known construction, isv

employed for this purpose in the mechanism shown.V Y.

In they construction hereinabove described, it will be noted 'that` the shaft 10, together with the entire driving mechanism therefor, may be; readily adjusted as a vunit whenever it is rdesired to effect an angular adjustment ofthe pulley l1. v f f Provision is also preferably made to prevent reverse rotationV of the shaft l0 which might otherwise occur under the influence of the. loaded elevator buckets, due to a failure4 in the power circuit or'from any other cause, In the mechanism shown, this is accomplished lby the use of a ratchet` mechanism, such as will now be described.V This mechanism includes a spider 49 keyed or otherwise fixed to one end of the shaft 42 and carrying a plurality of pawls 50 engageable with a fiXedratchet 51 secured to the main frame 31. As shown, particularly in VFigures 5 andV 6,- these'pawls are three yin number and each is pivotally mounted upon a Vpintle 52 secured within the outer end of the spider leg 53. Eachpawl is biased toward ratchet engaging position by a light spring 54 connected between a lug 55V carriedby the pawl and a lug 55 carried by the spider. AEachpawl is preferably so proportioned or weighted as to be swung against the Ytension ofthe spring 54v by centrifugal force Aout of engagement with the ratchet during normal rotation of the shaft 42. Unnecessary wearandV clatterbetween the pawls and ratchet teeth duringnormal operation is thus avoided. lAs lsoon as'. rotationof the shaft 42'has stopped, however, the pawls are forced yby the spring 54 into ratchet engagingposition to prevent rotation of the shaft Yinan opposite. direction. To insure proper action of theV pawls, suitable anti-friction bearings 56 between the pawls and spindles are preferably employed. In the mechanism ratchet is secured. This mechanism is preferably enclosed in an appropriate casing 57 whichmay be conveniently secured to the main frame 31.

VVarious chanO'es ma f be made in the em- D. bodiment of the invention hereinabove spec1- fically described, without departing from or' sacrificing any of the advantages of the Vin-Y vention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

l. In an elevator head the combination of ashaft, a belt supporting pullevV carried by said shaft intermediate the ends thereof, a vertically adjustable support for one end of said shaft, a gear casing supporting the other end ofV said shaft, gears in saidl casing'for drivingy said shaft,and a pivotal support for said casing permitting said pulley, shaft' and ears to be adjusted as a unit to effect' proper tracking of said pulley. f

t2. In an elevator head the combination of a shaft, abelt supporting pulley carried by Vsaid shaftintermediate the ends thereof, a

vertically adjustable support for one end of said shaft, a frame supporting the other end of said shaft. a motor carried by said frame, speed reduction gears carried by said frame between said motor and shaft, a pivotal sup- Yport forsaid framepermitting said pulley,

shaft and gears to move as a unit in response to adjustment of said support.

3. The combination of a. frame, a shaft journaled therein" and projecting therebeyond, mechanism carried by said frame for driving said shaft. a pivotal support for said frame, a rockablebearing block for supporting the. projected portion of said shaft, and a vertically adjustable. support for supporting said block. n

4. An elevator drive mechanism having a main frame, a. support for said frame, a drive shaft journaled therein, a pulley shaft journaled insaid frame, gear connections between said drive shaft and said pulley shaft, means associated with said drive shaft and frame Vfor preventing rotation of said pulley shaft except in one direction, and means for adjusting said vframe with respect to` said support without impairingthe functioning of said last named means.

5. An elevator drive mechanism having a main frame` a drive shaft journaled therein,

Va pullev shaft journale'd in said frame, gear connections between ,said shaftsmeans including a pivotal support for said frame permitting an angular adjustment of said frame and shafts, and means associated with said drive shaft for .preventing rotation thereof except in one direction in all angular positions of said frame. n y 6. An elevator drive mechanism having a frame, a shaft journaled therein, a pulley shaft journaled therein,y speed reduction gears between said shafts, a fixed ratchet Wheel carried by said frame, a pawl carried by said firstnamed shaft and cooperating With said ratchet'wheel to 'prevent rotation of said rst named shaft except in one direction, said paivl being yconstructed to Lswing clear of said ratchetwheel duringnormal rotation of said first named shaft, and means for yieldably forcing said pawl intoy engagement With said ratchetr Wheel when ysaid first named shaft is at rest.

7. An elevator drive mechanism having a frame, a drive shaft journaled therein, a

kpulley shaft journaled therein, speed yreduction gearing between said shafts, and centrifugal means yassociated With said drive y rality of pawls carried by said drive shaft for cooperation with said ratchet Wheel, saidy ratchet Wheel having a number of ratchet teeth not amultiple ofthe number of pawls, said paWls being constructed to swing clear of said ratchet teeth during normal rotation of said drive shaft, and means for yieldably forcingrsaid pawls into `engagement with said teeth when said drive shaft is brought to rest;

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day of November, 1921.

. s PERCY C. DAY.

`20 ratchet wheel secured to said frame, a plu#k 

